Advertisements
The first couple of weeks of January are very busy in music history. We start off with the following:
- Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones celebrated his 77th birthday on January 3.
- R.E.M.‘s Michael Stipe celebrated his 63rd birthday on January 4
- Joy Division and New Order founder Bernard Sumner also celebrated his 67th birthday on January 4
- The 70th anniversary of AC/DC co-founder, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and backing vocalist Malcom Young’s birth was on January 6
- The 76th anniversary of David Bowie‘s brith was on January 8
- The Doors‘ Robby Krieger celebrated his 77th birthday on January 8
- Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page celebrated his 79th birthday on January 9
- Steely Dan co-founder, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Donald Fagen celebrated his 75th birthday on January 10.
Mary J. Blige, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul was born 52 years ago today. If you’ve come of age in the 90s, as I did, Blige’s work is part of the musical soundtrack of your teens and twenties. You’ve fallen in love and out of love with her music being a part of it somehow. And if you were from the hood, Blige reminded you of your neighbor over in 15B or in 2J that you had an unrequited crush on.
So let’s celebrate Mary J.’s life and music today, huh? Happy birthday, Mary J.! May there be many, many more!